High School Motocross—A Little Hope And A Lot of Ifs.

HIGH SCHOOL MOTOCROSS—A LITTLE HOPE AND A LOT OF IFS.

UP FRONT

The concept of high school motocross is great. There's really no other word for it. And, it's great for several reasons.

1. It gets students interested in school activities; students who don’t dig football, swimming, or other established sports.

2. A high school motocross program is extra incentive for these students to carry a full load and maintain a proper grade point average because they can’t race in the current (and hopefully future) programs if they don’t.

3. Because it is a school activity, and because such activities are acceptable to the public at large, it is a lever respectable motorcyclists can use to convince doubters as to the worth of the sport.

4. Motocross is a sport parents can become involved with, and parental involvement with bikes is one of the surest cures for an increasing generation gap I’ve ever seen.

5. Last, but not least, greater acceptance by the public at large and heightened enthusiasm by students should increase bike sales of all kinds. And, as students become members of the working class in future years, this industry benefit should increase.

Like I said, it sounds great, but just try and put a program together. What a headache. Consider the plight of Vic Wilson, proprietor of Saddleback Park, the man with one of the first plans for a full high school series.

Vic, a promoter of considerable repute, felt high school competition was a natural. Crowd enthusiasm and attendance run high at the high school level. And the competitors themselves have a fresh, nonchalant way of racing that adds even more appeal to the proposition.

So, with this in mind, Vic went to Yamaha, a company noted for backing youth in competition, and made a general presentation.' In it he suggested a series of events that would end with a National High School Motocross Championship and a champ, if you will.

Well, Yamaha thought the idea was neat, but the concept was unproven and since it was unknown how many schools or school systems would go along with the idea, it was impossible to determine a budget or, for that matter, even figure out how many racing facilities would be needed.

At this point, Vic decided on a regional (Southern California), experiment to determine the interest, availability of tracks and the like, for a high school program. He wrote schools, lots of schools, and the response was overwhelming. Sixty schools in the Orange County areas expressed the desire to compete. Ditto 300 more for Southern California.

When Vic told me this I almost fell over. I said, “Hey, you’ve got it made. The students have it made.” But Vic just shook his head and asked where all of those kids from all of those schools were going to ride. Established motorcycle parks are too few and too far between and most are

booked months, if not years, in advance. Saddleback Park, for example, is booked solid through the ‘75 calendar year. And building tracks on high school property is out because of cost and noise. And even if they could be built on school land, insurance would be a problem educators couldn’t afford.

Well, an affluent motorcycle manufacturer could underwrite the project, pay the insurance, and maybe even lever a way into the schedules of existing tracks. One manufacturer could probably handle an area the size of Southern California. Add in all the major manufacturers and you could probably expand the program to include an area five or six times as large. But even this wouldn’t put a dent in a country the size of ours. And if you’ve got to be selective, just which regions do you cut out and how do you explain your actions to young, potential motorcycle customers who want to know why?

There is no simple solution to this dilemma, but given time and the right set of circumstances, it is not hopeless. At the present time, there is a successful trial program bemg run. Saddleback Raceway in Orange County is the locai^^, and the program is set up as follows.

Races are run once a week during the academic school year. Prior to the start of this “season,” a letter is sent out to the various schools in the area informing them of race dates and stating insurance coverage and the like. Any student is eligible to represent both himself and his school so long as he has a letter from the school stating that he is in fact enrolled and is carrying a full academic load. Once he has the letter, a prospective competitor heads for the track, fans in tow. It’s kind of like football in this respect.

Since manufacturers are not at the present time providing motorcycles for this program, each rider must have a helmet, other related safety equipment, such as boots and gloves, and a motorcycle.

Three classes are run. Minis. 125s. And 250cc to open. The hot class is 125cc, and the competition is fierce.

Trophies are awarded in the infield, just in front of the grandstands, at the conclusion of each evening’s racing. Both the individual and the school are stressed in the presentation, and this measure promotes both school and individual rivalry in a big way.

As the year progresses, winners are channeled into ^Pinale, at which one student proves himself number one.

The program isn’t without problems, though. There’re a lot of willing students and schools and only one track. And some kids have factory or dealer equipment that gives them quite an edge. But all things considered, it’s a helluva deal.

As for taking the program national, perhaps the AMA can help. They are the only national motorcycle organization with the framework and manpower to do it. Vic’s prototype Orange County effort could be studied by the Youth Division and national guidelines set up. Then, promoters in other states could be contacted and encouraged to establish similar programs.

Perhaps in ten years, if the AMA is willing to coordinate the program, if the necessary promoters and tracks are recruited, if everyone works together, perhaps then we can have state championships and, ultimately, a National High School Champion.

Man, that’s a lot of ifs, but it can happen and I for one hope it does.